If Quick access seems to have disappeared from File Explorer after an update, it has most likely moved. Windows 11 renamed it, and a couple of View and Privacy settings can hide the pinned folders inside it. This guide shows where it lives now, how to bring back a hidden list, how to keep pins from vanishing, and how to reset the options.
Where Quick access lives in Windows 11
Starting with version 22H2, the page File Explorer opens to is called Home. Quick access is now only the pinned folders section on that page and in the pane on the left, and pinned files are called Favorites. A fresh setup pins six standard locations there. They are Desktop and Documents, plus Downloads, Pictures, Music and Videos. Press Win + E and look under Home.
Bring back the left pane and the Quick access list in it
If the whole left pane is gone, open File Explorer, select View, then Show, and choose Navigation pane. If the pane shows but your pinned folders are not listed, a View option is the likely cause. Libraries are not shown in the pane by default; to add them, choose View, then Navigation pane, then Show libraries.
- Click the three dots (See more) on the toolbar and choose Options.
- Open the View tab.
- Under Navigation pane, clear Show all folders.
- Select Apply, then OK. Your Quick access list returns just below Home.
Show pinned folders hidden by the recommended section
After some updates the Home page shows suggested files where your pins used to be. One checkbox controls it.
- Click the three dots on the toolbar, then Options.
- On the General tab, find the Privacy section and clear Show recommended section.
- Select Apply, then OK.
Pin, unpin and reorder Quick access folders
Only folders can be pinned, not single files. To take one off, right-click it, then pick Unpin from Quick access. You can also drag a folder onto the Quick access heading in the left pane to pin it, and drag pinned folders up or down to reorder them. The order is kept after a restart. If you unpinned a standard folder and want it back:
- Launch File Explorer and choose Home on the left.
- Click the up arrow beside the address bar. All six standard folders appear.
- Right-click the folder you want, or press and hold on a touch screen, and select Pin to Quick access.
Stop pinned folders disappearing after a restart
When pins are fine one day and gone after a restart, go through these in turn and check after each.
- Clear Show recommended section as described above.
- In Options, clear the checkboxes under Privacy and select Apply. Quick access then shows only the folders you pinned.
- On the View tab of Options, select Reset Folders and then OK.
- Under Privacy, the two checkboxes that feed automatic entries are the one for recent files and the one for frequently used folders. Clear the one for Show frequently used folders in Quick access, then select Clear to remove automatic entries while keeping the folders you pinned yourself.
- To drop a single file from the recent list, right-click that file, then pick Remove from Quick access.
Reset File Explorer options
Click the three dots (See more), choose Options, and on the General tab select Restore Defaults. On the same tab, the Open File Explorer to list offers Home or This PC. Pick one and select Apply.